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Thursday, 5 June 2014

Review: Blazed by Jason Myers

Jamie uncovers
life-changing secrets from his past when he’s sent to live with a father
he’s never met in this gritty novel from the author of Exit Here. and Run the Game.

Jamie
is invincible when he is high. His anger, his isolation, his mom’s
manic mood swings—nothing can shatter his glass castle. But one brutal
night upends everything, leaving his mom broken and Jamie betrayed.

Sent
to live with a father he’s never met, Jamie is determined to hate the
man he blames for his mother’s ruin. And he blocks out the pain with
drugs, fierce music, and sweet, sweet Dominique. Except the more time
Jamie spends at his dad’s, the more his mother’s scathing stories start
to unravel. Who is he supposed to believe? And how much will he have to
sacrifice to uncover the truth?

Kindle Edition, 320 pages

Expected publication:
June 17th 2014
by Simon Pulse

Genre: Young Adult

Kristine's Thoughts:

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from Simon Pulse via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. The expected publication date is June 17, 2014.

Whenever I write a review I always try to list the positives or the things I liked before the negatives but unfortunately there are none to speak of with this book. This book was a huge let down and if I'm being completely honest a big waste of time.

The book is about a 14 year old boy who is hooked on Oxy. I've never taken the drug for even a legit reason but I truly think you would need to in able to enjoy this book. The way the teenagers talk in this book was painful to read. I haven't heard kids who think they are cool (but really aren't) talk like that since the late 80's or early 90's. I began thinking that perhaps I was too old to understand but questioned a few young people about the language and they laughed. They thought I was joking and informed me that nobody talks like that.

The book also glorifies the use of drugs. Here was a young boy who was hooked on drugs but miraculously all these great things kept happening to him. There was no downward spiral with the exception of one altercation. In fact, girls of all ages were throwing themselves at him and telling him how great and perfect he was all the time. Woman in their 20's were telling him that they wanted to have sex with him. He was meeting famous people and the list goes on.

The fact that it described his sexual adventures was just gross. The kid was 14 years old. That would put him in grade 8 or maybe 9 at the most. I am by no means naive and I do understand that some people are having sex at that age but I don't enjoy reading about kids (because that is what he was) doing it.

The book quotes and references numerous songs and bands throughout the entire book and guess what? Every one of them was one of his favourite and he loved them. Add to this the description of what every character was wearing at any given time right down to the shoelaces and my eyes were rolling so much that my family thought I was having a seizure. This book took place over one week and it felt like a year.

I feel bad for writing such an unfavourable review but I had a very strong dislike for it and I have to be honest. There is no character development, the characters are not likeable, there is no resolution, the story goes nowhere and the relationship between Jamie and Dominique is underdeveloped, boring and kind of a joke.

I would not recommend this book to anyone...it was just that bad.

About the Author

Jason Myers was born in 1980 and raised on a farm ten miles outside of the small town of Dysart, Iowa. After he graduated high school, he moved to San Francisco where he studied film at the Academy of Art University. It was there, after taking a Screenwriting 3 class that he met and studied under the inspiring instructor and author James Dalessandro. James helped Myers grasp the value of having great stories within the story and also the value of pacing. He also taught him how to structure his stories in a way that made the reader feel invested. Myers then sat down in early 2003 and began working on what would become the first draft of Exit Here. He signed with literary agent Gary Heidt and in 2005, at the age of 24, he signed a major publishing deal with Simon & Schuster. Exit Here would go on to be released in May of 2007 and thus far the book has sold over 90, 000 copies worldwide. In 2010, Myers' second book, The Mission, also on Simon & Schuster, was released worldwide. The book went into its third printing six months after its release and has already sold nearly 30,000 copies to date.